PHMSA is taking a focused approach to increase community awareness and preparedness for response to bulk transportation incidents involving energy products such as crude oil, ethanol, and liquefied natural gas (LNG). Specific efforts are underway to collect lessons learned by the response community from previous ethanol and crude oil accidents, evaluate those incidents against current Emergency Response Guidebook (ERG) information, and develop appropriate response outreach and training tools aimed to mitigate the impact of future incidents.

Developed in conjunction with experts from the hazmat emergency response community, railroads and industry, this document provides emergency response organizations with a standard incident management framework based on pre-incident planning and preparedness principles and best practices. The reference sheet covers transportation safety and precautions, hazard assessment and risk, rail safety procedures, logistics, and the tools, equipment and resources necessary to prepare for and respond to crude oil rail transportation incidents.